The tide appears to be turning in the ESOP litigation arena, as speakers at the recent ASA ESOP Virtual Conference report. In the recent Bowers case, the court ruled very decisively against the Department of Labor (DOL) in an ESOP valuation case, stressing that the DOL failed to follow standard valuation practices. Read more >>

A shareholder oppression case involving Applebee's takes an interesting turn. Read more >>

In August 2022, we digested and entered into the BVLaw case platform a stockholder litigation case, In re GGP, wherein the Supreme Court of Delaware determined that the Delaware Chancery Court erred in dismissing claims regarding appraisal rights disclosures in a merger. Read more >>

A recent case in federal district court in New Mexico dealt with two motions to exclude a witness under the Daubert rules because the financial statements provided to the BV expert were not prepared under GAAP and were otherwise potentially inaccurate, such as relying on unaudited financial statements. Read more >>

A new case from the Supreme Court of Vermont affirms a trial court decision that allows the valuator of a business that received PPP loan proceeds to include those proceeds in the cash flows used to determine the value of the business using the capitalized cash flows method. Read more >>

For as long as I can remember, there has been the question of using an offer to buy a subject company to determine the value. The short answer is not normally. Read more >>

The Tax Court recently allowed tax affecting for a pass-through entity in the case of Estate of Cecil v. Commissioner. As has been common in recent cases involving tax affecting pass-through entities, the Tax Court went kicking and screaming grudgingly into the decision. Read more >>

AI is continuing to explode; let's talk about what this could mean for business valuation and whether it is just a passing fancy. Read more >>

As the effectiveness of AI systems continues to improve, AI has started to gain traction in a wider range of industries not the least of which is the financial sector. Read more >>

Business valuation professionals are all familiar with the business valuation body of knowledge. All of the major BV credentialing organizations adhere to the body of knowledge and generally test new potential credentialed members on it. Read more >>

As has been reported, Kroger, in October 2022, announced that it would buy its smaller competitor, Albertsons, for $24.6 billion. The combined companies would own about 5,000 stores, making it the dominant corporate chain in the country. Read more >>

ChatGPT has exploded into the public consciousness and aims to revolutionize the way way we look at AI. But what does this mean for valuation? Read more >>

For years, I have contended that there are three types of goodwill: entity goodwill, transferrable personal goodwill, and “pure” (nontransferrable) personal goodwill. Let's take a look at a few cases that explore this idea. Read more >>

In late 2021, we reported on an Arizona case (Larchick v. Pollock) that the Appellate Court remanded to determine whether a calculation of value should be allowed as evidence. Read on to see where that led. Read more >>

In this Tennessee appellate divorce decision, the court affirmed the valuation of the husband’s plastic surgeon practice from the trial court. Read more >>

Whether in business valuation or just about anywhere in media, education, webinars and training, or any other form of communication, it is difficult for even a day to go by without hearing something about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in corporate decision-making. Read more >>

In the LB Steel, LLC bankruptcy case, a trial was held to resolve the issue of whether the trustee was able to avoid payments made to the parent company during the preference period; find out what happens next. Read more >>

In May 2021, a Delaware Chancery case came down on a shareholder challenge to the fair value of shares of Regal Cinema in a sale to Cineworld. The court arrived at a value based on the deal price less synergies, which actually gave the challengers less than the deal price for their shares. Read more >>

Accounting has been facing a new challenge in recent years: a lack of new accounting graduates. Read on for a few takes on this new issue. Read more >>

This case revolved around the value to be paid for a one-third interest in a partnership for a business that produces and sells flavored “moonshine” liquor. This case was on its second run through an appellate court. Read on to see where the decision for this spirited case landed. Read more >>